The war in Vietnam became a harsh, grim reality in Odebolt Sunday, March 9, 1969, when Mr. and Mrs. Earle Rex received word that their son, Capt. Robert F. Rex, 27, was missing in action.  Monday word was received that he had been killed.  He was the first Odebolt man to lose his life in the Vietnam War.
     Capt. Rex was piloting an O-2A reconnaissance aircraft on a day operational mission March 9, 1969, when it crashed in hostile territory in Laos.  The message stated that no parachute was seen, nor was radio contact made with Capt. Rex after his plane was hit.  The Air Force reported Capt. Rex died as a result of injuries received in an aircraft crash.  A ground team was sent in to recover his body, but hostile ground fire precluded recovery of the remains.
     Capt. Rex had been in Vietnam since July, 1968.  He was stationed at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, when he volunteered for duty in Vietnam.  He piloted a C130 Cargo plane to Southeast Asia.
     He was the first Odebolt man to be appointed to the Air Force Academy.  Confirmation of the congressional appointment to the Academy at Colorado Springs, Colo., came June 16, 1959, shortly after his graduation from the Odebolt-Arthur Community hgih school.  He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1963 upon graduation from the Academy.  He attended Air Force Flight school at Craig Air Force Base in Alabama and received his pilot's wings August 4, 1964, after 66 weeks of training.  His next assignment was at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina where he reported Oct. 1 and flew MATS and C130E cargo aircraft.
     In June 1967, while at Charleston, Rex received his promotion to Air Force Captain and was pilot and commander of a C130 Cargo aircraft.  From there he went to McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, and then to Vietnam.
     Capt. Rex is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Earle F. Rex of Odebolt, and one brother, Donald Rex of Minneapolis.  He was preceded in death by a brother, John, who drowned in a fishing accident in April, 1962.

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Capt. Rex is on panel 30W, line 095 of the Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. He served our country for 4 years.

POW Network biography on Robert F. Rex

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